Glenn Gers

Two women who don't look at all alike find out they have an unfortunate amount in common in this independent comedy drama. Lydia (Deidra Edwards) is a woman in her early thirties who lives and works in Venice Beach, CA, a place where appearance counts for a lot. Lydia is more than a little overweight, and she's a member of a "Fat Acceptance Group," a support organization where plus-sized women gather to discuss their emotional issues and their desire for the world to understand them at face value. One day, a new face appears at the group's weekly meeting -- Darcy (Staci Lawrence), a strikingly slender woman who informs the regulars that she's a recovering anorexic who wants to attend because despite her size, she still sees herself as fat. While the leader of the group rejects Darcy, Lydia strikes up a friendship with her, and as they get to know one another they come to understand their unique anxieties about their bodies. Lydia has begun a tentative romance with a stocky but likable man named Bob (Ryan C. Benson), who wants a woman who won't judge him for his girth, but when she learns he's planning to have gastric bypass surgery in a final bid to lose weight, she's afraid he'll leave her behind and makes an unusual request to Darcy -- lessons in how to become anorexic. Disfigured was the first directorial assignment for screenwriter Glenn Gers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A structural engineer (Anthony Hopkins) and an ambitious young district attorney (Ryan Gosling) become locked in a deadly battle of wits when the former is found innocent in the attempted murder of his wife in director Gregory Hoblit's tense tale of courtroom mind games. Ted Crawford (Hopkins) is an engineer who lives with his wife, Jennifer (Embeth Davidtz), in the couple's lavish Southern California home. One day, after carefully planning out the details to ensure that there is no way he can be convicted of murder, Ted shoots his wife in a blatant attempt to kill the woman. When head hostage negotiator Rob Nunally (Billy Burke) arrives on the scene to speak with Ted, he is shocked to find that the victim of the shooting is in fact his longtime lover. Though Jennifer survives the trauma of being shot in the head at close range, she hovers comatose between life and death as star prosecutor Willy Beachum (Gosling) reluctantly accepts the case while preparing to leave the Los Angeles criminal court system behind for a more promising career at a posh private law firm. Though the DA (David Strathairn) vehemently resents Beachum's lofty plan for departure, the hotshot young lawyer remains convinced that he can expedite the apparently open-and-shut case and be on his way to greener pastures in one week's time at the very most. Beachum's swelling ego betrays him, however, as his future boss Nikki Gardner (Rosamund Pike) begins to turn up the heat and fracture mechanics specialist Ted chooses to represent himself at the trial knowing well that a career spent spotting structural flaws in aeronautical systems has instilled him with just the kind of argumentative skills needed to riddle the swaggering young lawyer's "foolproof" case with doubt. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-cable comedy-drama, a ten-year-old boy (Rory Culkin), who is still coming to terms with the death of his parents, is sent to spend the summer with his aunt (Sherilyn Fenn), who works as a lounge singer at a Florida resort hotel that's seen better days. While living at the hotel, the boy makes the acquaintance of Sam (Hume Cronyn), an elderly man who is enjoying an extended vacation in the Sunshine State. As the boy becomes friendly with Sam, he begins to wonder if the older, bearded man might actually be Santa Claus looking to get away from the North Pole prior to the year's toy-building season. Off Season was directed by veteran actor Bruce Davison, who also appears in a supporting role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide